I found something out recently that had avoided me for many years. I had always heard “well the best team won” that was something I just took for granted until this past week when my blinders came off and I realized teams are more than just winning. Teams consist of many things ranging from the actual athletes and coaches to the fans who faithfully follow them on their journey.

Teams are formed for a common purpose, usually a teams goal is to be number one. However that is not always the case and many time they finished far from first. The best team does not always finish first. This past weekend was a perfect example of how that happens.

I witnessed something I hadn’t seen for several years as I watched the WVSSAC Boys super six Class A championship game. I saw the best team go down to defeat. Thinking back I believe the last time I witnessed that happen was in 1967 when Paden City high school fell to Monongah in the Class A championship game 21-12.

Yes in both cases the highest score was by the winning team, and the best team left the field in the number two slot. I say this not out of lack of respect for the team that won but for the real sense of the word team. In both of these contests the best team could be defined as a group of people with a full set of complementary skills and abilities to perform a task.

Give Wheeling Central all the credit they deserve. They won the game in overwelming fashion 38-21. A great victory for the school. Three in a row! Doddridge County came into the contest ranked number one in the state with a 13-0 record and left on the short end with it’s first loss of the season.

This past Saturday and in the 1967 game I witnessed much of the same from the best team. As a team is certainly more than just the players, we must take into consideration the elements that make up a team. Winning the game is certainly at the top of the list for every team whether it’s in the business world or high school sports. Part of making up a winning team is mutual committment from every part of the equation. It includes the parents who proudly support their children and play by the rules. It includes community involement and support. It includes people working together to generate performance greater than the sum of the performance of it’s individual members.

Win lose or draw, team members help each other achieve their true potential, and create an environment that lets them go beyond their limitations. I think that is what Doddridge County is all about. They are the true winners in my book. Just a year or two ago they were playing at the old worn out facilities and making the best of it.

It’s funny how quick things can turn around. They as a team now have the best facilities in the state. They have a winning program they can be proud of. The support for the team was effident by the size of their following. As a team, everyone involved and not just the athletes, they were the best.

There is no doubt, they proved to the entire state they had a winning team, a team with class, a team with support and a team who is proud to say we’re from little old Doddridge County stuck out on Route 50 between Parkersburg and Clarksburg. With no where to grab up players from other areas, just a small community with mosltly home grown farm boys willing to work to be the best they could be.

The best team in the state in Class A took their only loss of the season with dissappointment, but also with class. From what I have witnessed they can be considered the best team. A group of people formed together into one unit who stood tall even when going down in defeat. Congratulations to Wheeling Central on the win and congratulations to Doddridge County the best team in the state. eparsons@tylerstarnews.com